My Top 10 Food for Thought During MCO （8/10）

8. Stay connected with my family and friends virtually It is a sad fact that we are living in a century with the greatest communication technology, yet we are not making full utilization of the technology for meaningful communication purposes. In the contrary, communication technology has become the barrier among us. Many would identify with me that it is a norm to see individuals of a family busy with their respective mobile phones as they sit in a restaurant. They maintain intense eye contact with the lifeless mobile device rather than with their closest family members. Parents even adopt the mobile device as the "technology babysitter" for their young children while dining. This scenario is not strange to anyone of us.

We have taken for granted those precious face-to-face time with our family or friends physically while we can back then without the threat of COVID-19. While we can enjoy the physical presence of our family and friends, we miss out the privilege of engaging each other through a meaningful conversation, looking into the eyes of one another or even showing supportive affection. Now all these are taken away from us with the pandemic-lockdown set in place. We can no longer meet up with our family, relatives and friends, all are obligated to stay at home. Human needs connection with one another. As the saying goes: no man is an island, social interaction cannot be deprived during our home bound season. Though physically we are hiding in our own dwellings, we can still stay connected with our families and friends virtually. It is during a pandemic-lockdown that we truly make full use of our mobile devices for real communication. I have observed that my family members communicate more frequent than before via WhatsApp text and video call; those inactive chat groups with friends has suddenly been activated since the beginning of MCO. We are checking on one another's well being and coping mechanism, sharing our home-cook, home-baked photos and recipes as well as exchanging good pieces of information. Love goes on even amidst fear and uncertainty of a pandemic-lockdown.

This COVID-19 pandemic has indeed awaken us in many ways. It has revealed deeper truth about ourselves especially in the area of our interpersonal relationship. After this pandemic is over completely, would we put down our mobile phones and being present fully for our family and friends as we gather physically again?